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Knights Kitchen

Well I’ll be honest, this hadn’t been our intended destination. We were heading somewhere else which was quirky but also unexpectedly shut, so we took the opportunity to try Knights Kitchen which was a stone’s throw away. Knights Kitchen offers African food and this cosy little restaurant is decked out so you definitely feel that you are transported somewhere else. We were warmly greeted and offered a table. We timed it quite well as whilst it was relatively quiet on arrival, the place was pretty full not long after.

My visit was with Ann from A Quirky Lifestyle. She asked the waitress for some recommendations. She recommended the pili pili karanga (a chilli dish) and cassava chips, so we ordered those as starters to share, even though the chips were actually a side. I already knew I was going to have a bunny chow (not made of bunny) as I’ve wanted to try one ever since I saw a stall serving them at Glastonbury – I was just never near the stall when I was hungry. Ann asked the waitress again for a suggestion. She found it harder this time as the waitress was vegetarian and many of the dishes are a carnivores delight but she suggested two which are popular with their diners. Ann went for the suggestion of the Masai Mara meat. We also ordered a cocktail each.

When the food arrived it came almost all at the same time, which we had not really been expecting. So whilst we made a start on what was essentially our starters we abandoned these so our mains wouldn’t get too cold. On the starters, neither of us really got into the cassava chips. They seemed a bit too big and the centres weren’t really to our taste. There were also too many of them at this size. The pili pili karanga was nice. The chillis were good but again, quite a few of them and not for the feint hearted. Our cocktails looked impressive and tasted lovely. I had gone for the Sahara Sunset which was sweet and just to my taste. Ann had chosen the Dawa which was more of a tart cocktail with cinnamon and lemon and lime juice.

The mains were a much more exciting affair. My bunny chow consisted of a bread roll, which had been opened out and had a South African chilli (similar to chilli con carne) spooned in. This came with two small salad type dishes, one with tomato as its main component and the other red cabbage. I adored this bunny chow. The bread makes a nice alternative to rice and the chilli was full of flavour without being too punchy with chillies. The salsa/salads worked well but the tomato one was definitely the best of the two. On the other side of the table, the Masai Mara meat was certainly a meat feast. This platter is available for a single serving or a sharing for two. The platter included South African sausage, steak, lamb koftas and chicken wings. This was accompanied by a number of different dips. Ann enjoyed this platter but did have to admit defeat. However, the waitress kindly offered to box up the rest for Ann to take home.

Knights Kitchen is definitely a different offering and had some highs on the menu.